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The ongoing 2020-21 season has been a surreal one for both players and teams. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the previous season had a belated conclusion. As a result, the ongoing season came about after a shorter-than-usual turnaround.
That has meant that many top teams and players have struggled to hit the ground running, a situation that has been exacerbated with fixture congestion in various competitions.
Premier League champions Liverpool have been knocked off top spot after dropping points in too many games. La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona have had underwhelming starts, and the duo trail surprise league leaders Atletico Madrid.
In Italy, serial winners Juventus have struggled for consistency, finding themselves a lowly fourth in the league table at the mid-way point of the season. The same also holds for a bevy of world-class players.
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Lionel Messi and Raheem Sterling are only beginning to hit their stride after uncharacteristically slow starts to their respective campaigns. On that note, let us have a look at five such world-class players who have underwhelmed this season.
Five world-class players who have underwhelmed this season:
#5 Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Aymeric Laporte has been one of the key players for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola since arriving at the club in 2018.
However, this season, the Frenchman has made only four league appearances and has fallen down the club's pecking order after a six-month injury-enforced absence last season.
Often a reassuring presence in defense, Laporte is no longer a guaranteed starter at City, especially after the arrival of Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake and the improving form of John Stones.
Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola still thinks highly of the player, recently saying:
“Aymeric continues to be really important for us, but right now I’m playing other guys. In the future, I’m pretty sure he’s going to play a lot of games.”
#4 Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Jadon Sancho is one of the brightest young talents in world football at the moment. The English winger enjoyed a breakthrough season with Borussia Dortmund last season, scoring and assisting goals galore in the Bundesliga.
However, the 20-year-old has appeared uncharacteristically off the pace this season. After conjuring 17 goals and as many assists to help Dortmund to second place in the 2019-20 Bundesliga, Sancho went scoreless in his first 12 games in the competition this season before breaking his duck against Wolfsburg.
Jadon Sancho has looked like a pale shadow of his illustrious self this season, possibly because a much-touted move to Manchester United did not materialize for the player in the summer.
Sancho admitted his difficulties about enduring a slow start to the season when he said:
"Obviously this season has been very difficult for me personally. So I knew when I went away, I just focused on my game and came back raring to go. I'm working hard every day in training and on the pitch, so I'm just happy to get my goals and assists."
#3 Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
Raphael Varane has been a key player at Real Madrid during his nearly decade-long stint at the club.
Along with Sergio Ramos, the Frenchman formed a formidable central defensive partnership last season to help Real Madrid win their first La Liga title in three years on the back of an uncharacteristic defensive rearguard.
However, Varane has become increasingly error-prone this season and has especially struggled in the absence of Ramos.
Real Madrid need the Frenchman - still only 27 - to become the club's defensive lynchpin as they begin to prepare for life after Sergio Ramos, who could leave Los Blancos this summer.
The player is firmly in the plans of manager Zinedine Zidane, who recently declared the player as 'untransferable' when he said:
"It's not just me (who wants to keep him). He is a part of this club, and we were very lucky to be able to bring him to Madrid. He has a great career, and he's achieved a lot since he's been here. Of course, he is untransferable for the club, for the coach that I am, for people in general."
#2 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
After arriving at Arsenal in 2018, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang amassed 70 goals in 109 games in all competitions before this season.
However, this season, the Gabon international, who is also the captain of Arsenal, has scored a meager six goals in 18 games in all competitions - a massively underwhelming tally for a player who has won the Torjegarkannone and the Premier League Golden Boot.
The 31-year-old, who has netted at the wrong end of the field this season, needs to turn around his and his club's fortunes for the better.
Unsurprisingly, the dismal form of Aubameyang has had a direct effect on goal-shy Arsenal's performances this season.
The Gunners were languishing at the wrong end of the league table for most of the season before recently experiencing an upturn of sorts.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta backed his star player to come out of his rough patch when he said in this regard:
"We cannot forget what Auba has done for this club and what he has done in recent months, not years ago. As well, I see how he's training and how he's behaving, how much he wants to turn this situation around. When I see that type of hunger, it's about supporting the player as well as the status he has in the team because of the performances he has provided for this football club."
#1 Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)
Serge Gnabry, arguably one of the best wingers in the game at the moment, scored 23 goals and assisted 14 in Bayern Munich's spectacular treble-winning season last campaign.
However, the German player has failed to set the stage alight with his performances this season. Beset by injuries and poor form, the 25-year-old has only managed to score four goals and provide three assists in 20 games across competitions in 2020-21.
Nevertheless, such is the embarrassment of riches (read 'quality players') at the club, Bayern Munich, are in contention for another treble this season.
